Sports

Two Oranje players made a powerful statement against racism in the match against Estonia (5-0) in Amsterdam on Tuesday. After captain Georginio Wijnaldum scored his first of three goals, he and Frenkie de Jong stopped to pose with their arms against each other, to show that they are different but they are one.

On Tuesday Oranje coach Ronald Koeman gave a number of newcomers a chance to play against Estonia in the last international match of 2019. After the Dutch team's 5-0 victory, the coach had to conclude that the Netherlands has a large number of good footballers, which will make his job of selecting a team for the European Championship next year a real challenge, NU.nl reports.

“Downright disgusting”, is what Dutch football association KNVB called racist chants by FC Den Bosch fans directed at Excelsior player Ahmad Mendes Moreira on Sunday. “This does not belong on a football field”, Jan Bluyssen, KNVB’s competition affairs manager, said to NOS.

On Sunday referee Laurens Gerrets had to stop a match between FC Den Bosch and Excelsior for ten minutes, due to FC Den Bosch fans’ behavior. Songs about Zwarte Piet and monkey chanting were heard from the fanatic M-side every time Moreira had the ball, according to the broadcaster.

Midfielder Frenkie de Jong doesn’t think the Dutch national football team is a favorite to win the European Championships next year, but he does believe Oranje has a chance, he said to NU.nl.

Oranje qualified for the European Championships on Saturday with a 0-0 draw against Ireland on Windsor Park. This is the team’s return to the international stage, after it missed the Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup.

The Dutch women's football team beat Slovenia 4-1 in a European Championship qualifier in Arnhem on Tuesday. Coach Sarina Wiegman is very satisfied, calling the victory a fitting conclusion to a beautiful year.

Kaja Erzen scored the first goal for Slovina in the GelreDome, but after that the Oranje Lionesses quickly took over the match. Sherida Spitse put the Netherlands on the scoreboard, scoring twice via two penalties, after which Vivianne Miedema also scored two goals, NU.nl reports.

An 18-year-old man from Amsterdam was sentenced to 18 months in prison, four of which conditionally suspended, by the court in Amsterdam on Wednesday. The court found him guilty of hanging a hand grenade on an outer wall of football club ADO's supporters home in The Hague. Two other men were acquitted, NU.nl reports.

Over 70 amateur football clubs in the Netherlands have noticed signals of organized crime trying to get a foothold in the club. These signals include dubious sponsors, people who offer drugs, and sponsors or lenders who want to remain anonymous, RTL Nieuws reports based on its own research.

Ajax and Chelsea tied 4-4 in a crazy Champions League match on Tuesday. The Amsterdam team led 1-4 until they received two red cards on one play early in the second half. The team is furious, coach Erik Ten Hag and various players said to NOS.

The first goals for both teams were scored within the first minutes of the match - an own goal by Tammy Abraham and a penalty by Jorginho. During the rest of the first half, Quincy Promes and Hakim Ziyech brought Ajax to 1-3. Shortly after the break, Donny van de Beek made it 1-4 and the match seemed to be decided.

Renovations to the Zandvoort Circuit for the Dutch Grand Prix can continue as planned, the court in Haarlem ruled on Tuesday in the first of two lawsuits filed by environmental organizations in an attempt to stop the planned work, RTL Nieuws reports.

Feyenoord fans were not happy with the 4-0 loss the Rotterdam team suffered in an Eredivisie match against Ajax in Amsterdam on Sunday. Around 300 furious fans gathered at training complex 1908 and pelted the Feyenoord bus with fireworks and glasses as the players returned home, AD reports.

Even before the players arrived back in Rotterdam, there was a lot of angry yelling and shouting, according to the newspaper. Supporters jumped onto a police bus, which drove off with howling sirens, forcing the men to jump off.

After two victories, Ajax suffered its first loss in the group phase of the Champions League against Chelsea on Wednesday. The match in the Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam ended 0-1 after a goal by Quincy Promes was rejected by the video assistant referee (VAR). The Amsterdam players feel "robbed".

AZ will also replace the roof above the main stand of the AFAS stadium, the club announced on Tuesday. Investigation launched after part of the stadium's roof collapsed in a storm in August showed that this part of the stadium's roof is also unsafe.

Around 25 shops and liquor stores in the Red Light District will not be allowed to sell alcohol on Wednesday afternoon in the run-up to the Champions League match between Ajax and Chelsea. Bars will be allowed to serve alcohol, but only for consumption in the bar. The municipality of Amsterdam hopes to prevent problems caused by drunk football fans, Het Parool reports.

Vincent Kipchumba won the 44th TCS Amsterdam Marathon on Sunday. The 29-year-old Kenyan ran 42 kilometers and 195 meters in 2 hours, 5 minutes an 9 seconds. Among the women, Ethiopian Degitu Azimeraw won with a time of 2 hours, 19 minutes and 26 seconds, setting a new course record for the female runners.

A difficult victory against Belarus on Sunday put the Dutch national team another step closer to the European Championship 2020. Oranje beat the Russians 1-2 in Minsk, thanks to two goals scored by Georginio Wijnaldum. The Dutch footballers are pleased with the victory, but critical of their performance.

The victory keeps the Netherlands in the lead in group C of the playoffs, with 15 points from six matches. Germany also has 15 points, but is in second place due to a poorer underlying result. Northern Ireland is in third place with 12 points from six matches.

In a difficult match between Oranje and Northern Ireland in the Kuip in Rotterdam, the Dutch team booked an important victory in the final phase of the European Championship qualification on Thursday. Thanks to goals by substitute Luuk de Jong and Memphis Depay, Oranje won 3-1, putting the team in the lead of group C. The Dutch footballers and coach Ronald Koeman are relieved.

The Irishmen were first on the score board. Depay brought the score up to 1-1. The last two goals were scored in injury time, one by Depay, one by De Jong.

The Dutch checkers team was held captive in a hotel on the Ivory Coast, where they were participating in the checkers World Championship, for hours on Thursday. The bill for the hotel was not paid and as a result, the hotel would not let any of its guests leave, Dutch checkers association KNDB said on Facebook.

If millions of euros aren't invested into upgrading railways and stations between Haarlem and Zandvoort, trains will no longer run to big events in Zandvoort like the Formula 1, NS and ProRail indicated according to a letter Haarlem alderman Robert Berkhout sent to the city council. According to a ProRail spokesperson, this is not an ultimatum, just an explanation of the actual situation, RTL Nieuws reports.

A total of 90 football supporters from Groningen were arrested in Amsterdam before the match between Ajax and FC Groningen on Saturday. According to the police, the Groningen supporters came to Amsterdam to start a fight with Ajax supporters. They were each fined 120 euros and released after the match, a spokesperson for the Public Prosecution Service in Amsterdam said to AD on Sunday.

Work on the Zandvoort racing circuit for the Dutch Grand Prix has sustained some "not yet worrying" delays, due to a combination of factors including nitrogen emissions, Jan Lammers, sporting director of the Dutch Grand Prix said to NU.nl.

Despite Cristiano Ronaldo voting for Oranje men, the title for FIFA's best male footballer of the year went to Lionel Messi. Oranje captain Virgil van Dijk came in second place. Dutch Sari van Veenendaal won the title for best female keeper of the year, NU.nl reports.

Multiple environmental organizations are going to court to challenge a construction permit the province of Noord-Holland issued for the Formula 1 in Zandvoort. They want to prevent the dune area around the coastal town being affected by the work for the Grand Prix, a spokesperson for Mobilization for the Environment, one of the organizations involved in the lawsuit, confirmed to NU.nl.

The use of cold water baths in the unseasonably warm Dam tot Dam run between Amsterdam and Zaandam on Sunday was very successful. Overheating runners could quickly dunk in the bath and cool down. "I don't rule out that it saved lives", Ron van der Jagt, director of organizer Le Champion, said to RTL Nieuws.